Life-Bending: The Art of Unification
by JayStarr1082
Summary: Post-war, Katara and Aang are on vacation on a secluded Fire Nation island, at the very edge of the known world. The two discover a secret race of benders from far away. There are more elements than the ones Aang was taught to master.
1. Chapter 1

The sun rises in the early morning. Light shines through Aang's windows. He and Katara had been on vacation on a fire nation island, far away from the capital. He was supposed to calm down and relax himself here, but instead, he stayed up all night meditating.

Katara, two rooms over, yawned and walked into the teenaged avatar's bedroom, slightly confused by his cross-legged pose so early in the morning.

"Aang, are you meditating again?" Katara inquired. "It's, like, 6 in the morning. You should get some sleep."

"No. I can feel something coming, something evil. And I don't know what."

"You've been saying that for weeks, honey," Katara groaned, "Whatever it is isn't coming for you yet."

"But it's so close, Katara, I can feel it." Katara knelt beside her boyfriend and sighed.

"We've been on vacation for the last week and a half," she began, "and all I ever hear from you is death and doom. The Fire Lord is defeated, Aang! You can sleep without fear of assassination again."

Aang looked in her hurt eyes and got up.

"You're right, Katara. I should be more relaxed." He kissed her cheek. "Let's go get some food."

Half way to the market, Aang realized Katara was avoiding eye contact. He stopped in front of her and turned around.

"Look, I know I've been annoying these last few weeks," Aang confessed, "I'm sorry if I upset you." Suddenly, her eyes shot up. Not to him, but to something behind him. Her eyebrows furrowed, then her eyes widened and she pointed.

"Watch out!" she yelled as she grabbed Aang and jumped into a nearby bush.

Aang airbender-backflipped back up and readied himself. As he looked on for a potential threat, he found nothing but a wide, empty hole. He looked in the other direction to see an rooted tree the length of appa sitting 20 feet from them.

"What just happened?" Aang asked. Katara opens her mouth, but before she can say anything, a 6-foot, dark-skinned man blurs out of the hole and gets into a horse stance.

He wears a green, sleeveless shirt and brown shorts that cover the knee. His hair is in short dreadlocks, and from the avatar's angle, he had what looked like an intricate, black tattoo covering both arms.

The three stared at each other in silence, all waiting for each other to strike first. The man loosens his stance and looks Aang dead in the eyes.

"We come in peace," Aang begins, "don't attack us, and we won't hurt you." The man laughs in a thick accent.

"What makes you think you can hurt me?" He grunts. Aang lowers his hands. "I'm the avatar," He says, shocked, "Where have you been all last year?"

The man's orange eyes grow wide and his lips quiver. "Avatar?" he whispers, "but... how? The avatar cycle was finished years ago." Katara puts her hands on her hips. "Seriously, where were you last year? Aang was frozen in a block of ice, but I accidentally freed him, and -"

"Frozen in ice?" The guy gasps, "How did you manage to do that without dying?"

Aang walked towards him now with the slightest hint of a grin. "I'm the avatar. I can control all four elements, remember?"

"Four? There are four elements?"

"Well, I guess there could be more, but I only know the four. Water, earth, fire, air. Primarily Air, but the others as well."

"You have the ability to bend air?"

"Yeah," Aang chuckles, wondering if this guy was serious.

"And earth? I mean, how does that even work? What qualifies as 'earth', anyway? Like, any thing with rocks in it?"

Katara looks at Aang with a concerned expression. "Is he new or something?"

"New to what? Life?"

"I don't know if we can trust this guy. He seems pretty sketchy."

"Well, he's not from around here."

"But then where's he from? The spirit world?"

"Not everyone has a much of a formal education as us, Katara. Maybe he grew up in a small, secluded town away from benders."

"I think he's playing du- OH MY RAAVA!"

"What?" Aang says before looking to see a floating tree behind him.

A floating tree behind him.

A floating tree.

It took a bit of time to register, but when it did, Aang screamed like a little girl and jumped backwards 20 feet.

The man looked at their reactions and slowly lowered the tree to the ground with his left hand.

Katara and Aang stood in shell shock as the man put his hands up defensively. They stood in very awkward silence for some time before the man spoke.

"Oh, uh, I'm a life-bender, in case you didn't know," he trails off, holding the last syllable like a fermata, before letting it fade into an even more awkward silence.

"Yeah..." he begins, before clapping his hands together, "so, this is probably something you're unfamiliar with," he chuckles. "Let's start over. Hi, I'm Kento. And I can bend living things."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I got 2 follows and a review. That's a start. I need to know if this series is a good/interesting one, so let me know what you think of it. Even if you hate it.**

**Anyway, enjoy!**

_I'm Kento. And I can bend living_ _things._

Aang shook his head, "You can't bend us," he yelled in disbelief, "that's impossible."

"Well, not all living things can be bent," Kento explained, "some, like humans, are too strong-willed and refuse to respond to it." Katara nodded slowly, beginning to understand the concept. "But this tree?" Kento says, bending it back to its position in the forest, "It has no will at all, and will respond to even the slightest bending."

"Cool, let me try!" Aang yelled, getting into position. He concentrated on the tree, and attempted to lift it. It didn't move.

"You can't bend trees?" Kento inquired, "because the avatar I know bends all 3 elements, including life."

"Which avatar are you talking about?" Aang asked, "For as long as I've known, the -"

"Look, this is all very difficult for any of us to process," Kento cuts him off, "so let's get to know each other over a warm meal."

"Okay," Aang agrees, "there's a market just down the street from here."

The three travel down the path in silence, when Kento stops and frowns.

"What's wrong?" Katara asks, right before Kento uproots two trees and bends them together into a shield. A loud clap can be heard from behind the trees, as the tree's shadow mysteriously disappears. Kento motions for Katara and Aang to get down and defend themselves. Katara bends the water out of a patch of grass and makes a protective bubble while Aang bends out a chunk of earth for the two of them to fit in. Katara collects the grass water and forms it into a wall of ice before jumping into the hole with Aang.

Kento stares in awe of the benders before directing his attention back to the task at hand. By the time he turns around to his wall of trees, a dark figure had appeared in front of him. Instantly he recognizes the figure and breaks into a smile.

"Kim!" He yells, trapping the figure in a hug. The figure discards her collected shadows and hugs back. "It's cool, guys, she's with me."

Aang bends him and Katara out of their hole and look at the girl standing before them. She had a similar outfit, with a more form-fitting sleeveless shirt and longer shorts. Her hair was knotted into a single, long braid, and she had two skunk-like light brown highlights. She was probably 4 inches shorter than Katara, much shorter than Kento. She had a mildly perky air about her, but she didn't appear innocent or naive in any way.

"Guys, this is Kim, my soon-to-be wife. Kim, these are my friends, Katara and Aang."

"Hey, Kim," The avatar waved to her with a wide smile.

"Hey," Kim replied, then whispered to Kento, "where are these people from?"

"I dunno," Kento says, "but they're awesome. Katara can bend water, and Aang bends air! And earth!"

"What?" Kim shied in disbelief, "Nobody bends air! That's impossible,"

"Aang, show her." Kento giggles. Aang, without question, bends a small sphere of air in his hand with a large grin. Kim stares wide-eyed, and begins to speak, when Kento asks Aang to do fire bending. He proceeds to produce fireballs, then takes some of Katara's grass water, and freeze it into a ball of ice. He bends out a ball of dirt, and juggles the four elements between hands and one foot.

"That's incredible, isn't it?"Kento turns to Kim, who grabs him by his shirt and pulls him aside.

"Kento, we should go."

"Why?"

"That's not our avatar, Kent. We don't want anything to do with any avatar anymore, okay?"

"Whose avatar is it, then?"

"It doesn't matter. We have to leave."

"But why though? They seem friendly -"

"No!" Kim shouts, forgetting the 'dangerous' avatar in question was well within earshot. Aang drops the elemental spheres in shock. "They have abilities well beyond ours, and unbelievable control over them. Anger these people, and we'll be killed instantly!"

"Kim..."

"No!" She yelled again, "I will not lose the man I love to curiosity and strangers!"

"Excuse me?" Katara butt in, "We just saved our people, miss Kim. You happened to run into the good guys, even on what used to be enemy territory."

"Enemy?" Kim asked, both intrigued and offended, "How are we your enemies?"

"No one is our enemy now, guys," Aang interjects, "let's make peace, not war."

"Our people have tried making peace with neighboring nations for centuries," Kento explains, "and every time we do, someone ends up getting hurt."

"We've lost far too many of our people to outsiders, Avatar," Kim spits out, "I don't trust any one person incapable of proving himself."

"Then let us," Aang pleads, "allow us to prove ourselves. I haven't hurt anyone or anything for 101 years, and I don't intend to start now." Kim faces Kento with an adamant frown, but he ignores her and motions for the avatar to come closer.

"This kid is fine. Okay? Let's show him some hospitality." Kim shrugs and looks away.

"So..." Katara begins, trying to break the tension, "where did you guys come from?"

"I don't really know," Kento says, "I followed the root system here from underground. I guess I'll just follow that back to my homeland." He begins digging a hole using the wood of a chopped tree.

"How come we've never heard of your homeland?" Aang says, bending an earth hole to make the process easier, "Or any of the three elements you guys know of?"

"What are those three elements, anyway?" Katara cuts in. Kento raises his hand to calm them down.

"Our people have been nomadic since the beginning of our existence, avatar. Our lion turtle is constantly searching for other lion turtles, so we've encountered quite a few different nations. Katara, I say three elements, but I don't know what the third is. The first one, obviously, is life bending. The second is light bending, as demonstrated by Kim." He motions to Kim, and Kim absorbs sunlight and condenses it into a blindingly bright ball of white light. Katara and Aang cover their eyes, and are about to tell Kim to stop, when Kim separates the light, and projects it all over the cave, creating a rainbow. Katara gasps at the beauty. Kim fights a smile, then discards the light, dispersing it into the air.

"That's incredible," Aang says, "But how does that help you in a battle?"

"Like this."

Before Aang knew it, the room fell to complete darkness. Then, out of nowhere, rapid flashes of painfully bright light shone throughout the room. Aang and Katara groaned in pain. Kento whispered in Kim's ear, and Kim stopped. Aang looked up to discover he was utterly blind.

"Ah! I can't see!" He panicked, "Why can't I see?"

"It's temporary," Kim informs, "but very effective, no?" Kento shakes his head and continues digging.

As Aang slowly regained his vision, Katara walked towards him and began whispering to him.

"Do you have any idea where we're going?" Katara said, "How do we know we can trust these people?"

"We don't, Katara. But I doubt they came here to destroy the avatar."

"But you said you felt evil coming, Aang."

"I don't feel it anymore. You said it yourself, there's no reason to fear assassination."

"Aang, these are total strangers."

"And to them, _we're_ total strangers," Aang insisted, "If there was any doubt in my mind that they have nothing but good intentions, I wouldn't have come." As he finished that sentence, Kento put his hands up, signaling for the avatar to stop. He put his hands to the roots and focused.

"What's he doing?" Whispered Aang.

"He's feeling for our relative position, to see how far away the lion turtle is." Kim sighed. "One of the perks of life-bending."

Kento disconnected and backed up. "He's right above us," He announces, "But there's water in the way. Do you think you could bend us to the surface, Katara?" She nodded. Aang takes out a chunk of earth, allowing seawater to gush in. Katara bends them a bubble and floats them up to the surface. Aang closes the earth hole, then bends a raft of ice. He and Katara float them to the edge of the lion turtle and walk on. Examining the terrain, Aang saw no signs of human life. The place was a rampant jungle.

"Where's your home? Is it far?"

"This is our home," Kento says warmly, "the jungle is our home." With that, he bends a few jungle trees into a leaf hammock, bends a couple of fruits from nearby trees, and makes a makeshift table from some nearby saplings. He and Kim sit and rest in the roomy hammock, munching on the bananas and pineapples. Kento waves to Aang and Katara, inviting them onto the hammock. Aang runs over there, jumps on the hammock, and reaches for a berry. A hungry Katara loosens her hair ties and rolls onto the hammock, relaxed.

"See? Harmless." Kento says. "If the earth bending avatar wanted to kill us, he would've done it in that cave. Crushed us with the dirt. We never would've seen it coming."

"Yeah," Aang agrees, "And you guys could've blinded us, then trapped us between tree roots until we suffocated."

"But we didn't," Kim says dryly.

"And neither did we," Katara rebutted. The two girls stare at each other in silence, daring each other to strike. Kento leans into Aang's ear and whispers something. Aang laughs, then whispers something back.

"What's so funny?" Katara asks, feeling offended.

"Nothing," Kento chuckles, "We're thinking of new bending abilities."

"My favorite is truth-bending." Aang says. "Kento came up with glass bending."

"I think time-bending would be epic." Kento says. Kim smiles.

"Avatar, it's impossible to be mad at you."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry to the *1* follower of this story for waiting so long. I got greedy and took a permanent hiatus from this story for its lack of following. It won't happen again. While I am writing these stories for you, I definitely take pride in knowing I write them, whether anyone sees them or not. So I will continue to write until ****_I_**** am satisfied, not until anyone else is satisfied with me.**

**That being said, I appreciate the follow. Enjoy.**

Chapter 3

After a restful night, Aang wakes beside a sleeping Katara to see Kento and Kim practicing their bending abilities. Kento is in an upright stance, with his arms slightly bent and palms relaxed. One of his wrists are at the inside of his other elbow. He's walking forward in alternating steps, while alternating the two arms. Kim, on the other hand, has her arms spread wide, as if she was hugging a sumo wrestler. Her knees are bent slightly, with her legs shoulder width apart. With every inhale, she glows a little, and her fingers tense. With every exhale, glowing specs of light radiate off her body and fade into the air. It was a beautifully frightening sight to watch.

Kento stops suddenly, turns around, and smiles wide at Aang.

"Up so early?" Aang mumbles. The sun was only just peering over the watery horizon. Most of the world was still asleep.

"Of course," Kento breathes, "life wakes with the sun." With that, he drags over a severed log and begins using it as a bench.

"You have to teach me how to bend that!" Aang exclaims, suddenly full of energy. He rushes over to the bench and sits down on it. Kento raises a brow.

"I don't know if I can teach you anything, Aang. Lifebending is a tricky element to learn, and nearly impossible to master."

"Well, who taught you?" Aang says impatiently. Kento's eyes widen and he looks away.

"My..." His voice cracks slightly, "My dad taught me. When I was a boy."

"Can he teach me now?"

"He's gone." Kento whispers. Aang wilts.

"Gone?" he voices, "like, as in -"

"As in gone." Kim cuts in. "Kento hasn't seen him since he was young, and I only met him once. I accidentally blinded him too, it was a fun story. But after that day, we never saw him again. He bent himself into the roots of a bamboo tree and..." she struggled to find the word, "vanished." Aang was silent. He knew firsthand what losing his parents was like; he lost everything at such a young age, and had only recently redeemed himself. His pity turns into determination.

"I'm sure we'll find him, Kento." Kento turns to him with a flash of rage in his eyes. Kim gasps and leans into Aang's ear.

"I would shut up if I were you."

"No, go ahead." Kento barks, "do everything I've spent the last 7 years doing. Search everywhere. Below the tree, around the tree, inside the tree, go everywhere." Aand stands to his feet.

"Sorry, I didn't mean -"

"No, _avatar,_ this is your job. Search everywhere." Aang starts to notice all the trees around him sag unnaturally. "And when you never find him, be sure to come back to me with that sheepish grin and tell me -"

"Kento!" Kim cuts sharply. "_Enough._" She points to the deflated flora behind him. And he unclenches his fists. His expression softens, but he goes behind a tree muttering something about his training.

Aang gives his signature guilty smile to Kim, scratching his head.

"Guess I touched a nerve there?"

"Even I'm not allowed to talk about his father, Aang. Not jokingly, not seriously. In fact, if you can help it, don't talk about anyone's dad around him. Okay?" She pats his head comfortingly before running after Kento. Aang hears a yawn in the background, and sees Katara walking towards him. Her eyes widen at the deformed plants behind her.

"Whoa... what happened?" Katara asked, tying her hair back. Aang sighs guiltily.

"I'll tell you later," he mumbles, before sneaking behind Kim in the thick of the jungle.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thanks again for the support. In case anyone's curious, Kento's bending is based on Wing Chun. It's an interesting martial art. The most important thing to know about it (as far as this story is concerned) is that it's stances and attacks combine the principles of the four elements. The primary stance is like that of bamboo; sturdy but flexible, rooted but yielding. Masters of Wing Chun are known for being able to defend and attack simultaneously. All four elements are based on actual fighting styles, by the way. The exception is Kim, and you'll find out why in a bit.**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 4

Aang follows Kim with quieted feet. Kento ran deep into the jungle, until vines and branches were scratching their faces on every step. When Aang hears Kim come to a stop, he hides behind a spruce to hear their conversation.

"Ken, stop being so dramatic."

"I'm not being dramatic!"

"You definitely are."

"I was offended, okay? He -"

"You're overreacting."

Aang shrinks in shame. He might not have known Kento for long, but he knows Kento isn't the type to blow up over nothing. He knows something is up, that there's more to the story.

"Your dad gave you everything, Ken."

"Not everything."

"He gave everything he could've."

"He _could've _stayed here with us."

They both pause. The next thing Kim says is noticeably softer, and more severe.

"You and I both know that's not true."

Aang grasps the bark of the tree tightly to keep himself from turning around and asking for clarification. He was close to some secrets, and he knew it.

"I know." Kento says, audibly deflated. He takes a seat on the floor. "But I'd like to think -"

"Don't." Kim cuts him off. "I know what you're going to say."

Aang follows Kento to the ground, shaking with anticipation. From this angle, he has a beautiful view of the sunrise, peering proudly over the treetops. Until now, he never realized how diverse this island was; there was a collection of palm trees right beside some spruce sapplings, and a variety of berry bushes encircling an oak tree behind the running stream. It was a biological anomaly, something he'd never seen before in any of the nations. Had he not been focused on the conversation, he might've marked the spot for meditation.

Kim bends down to pat Kento on the shoulder. "Look, if your dad is in the spirit world like you say he is, I don't want you to try to find him in there, or grumble your way through life about it. If he had a way out of whatever mess he got himself into, he would have gotten out of it by now."

Aang gasps. _Spirit world? I can get Kento's dad out of the spirit world!_ He readies himself to stand and announce his discovery to Kento, but remembers he's not supposed to hear that, and stops himself. He hears Kento sigh, then lead his head back on a tree. He can feel a sudden thickness in the air, but can't put his finger on it. And then it hits him: the trees are connected.

"_Aang?_"

_Crap._

Aang comes from behind the tree, and raises his hands defensively. Kento's eyes stare deep into the avatar.

"I'm sorry, don't be -"

"How much did you hear?" Kento says with dead seriousness. Aang winces in anticipation.

"All of it."

Kento stands, then walks toward the avatar with an intentionally calm demeanor. He grabs the avatar's shoulder and squeezes lightly.

"Now that you know where my dad is, can you get him back?"

Aang relaxes. "You aren't even mad at me?"

Kento gives Aang a sly smile. "I know you can go into the spirit world by meditation, Aang. you're the avatar. But I have no idea where my dad is; I know he went there to see a spirit named Koh, but nothing more than that."

Aang's heart jumps at the name. "Yeah, I know who Koh is."

"Good!" Kento yells suddenly, his eyes widening anxiously. "Help me out, then, avatar. Go to Koh, ask about a man named Johnto." Kim steps to Kento and punches him lightly.

"What are you gonna do for Aang?" She asks, a hint of amusement crossing her face.

"I'll teach you lifebending when you return," Kento says, never turning his face, "And protect your body while you're gone. Sound like a deal?"

Aang wanted to say no. He wanted to tell Kento, straight out, that Koh would either not know his dad, or have his dad's face. He wanted to tell Kento it was a lost cause, and leave apologetically.

But he couldn't.

"Deal."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: It's back. Sorry about the wait.**

Chapter 5

Katara wakes to the sound of crunching leaves. She yawns and stretches, feeling for Aang's body, but doesn't feel anything. She frowns, then discards the concern. _Probably out meditating,_ she bitterly thinks to herself.

The thought barely slips through her mind before it can be, ironically, confirmed. Kento steps towards Katara with Aang hanging on his shoulders, and Kim carrying a basket of fresh fruits. Aang's tattoos are glowing, but his body is motionless. Flashes of the blizzard and an evil Zuko carrying Aang across it go through Katara's mind, but she suppresses them.

"What happened to Aang?" Katara asks, controlling the motherly concern in her voice. Kento breaks into a forced smile.

"Oh, he meditated into the spirit world," Kento says, "We're just here protecting his body."

"We brought you breakfast fruits!" Kim says, lightly swinging the basket. Katara's eyes never leave Kento.

"You aren't supposed to move him when he's in the spirit world," Katara explains, trying to be tolerant of his ignorance. Kento's lips point sheepishly. He shrugs his shoulders in the most genuinely aapologetic way he can.

"Oh, heh, sorry," he says, then gently lowers Aang onto the ground, before grinning widely again. Katara blinks irritatedly.

"Why is he even _in_ the spirit world?" She asks, some of the frustration spilling out.

"Well..." Kento and Kim look at each other for a second, then Kim finishes for him:

"Long story. But, long story short, Ken's dad is kind of in the spirit world right now, and Aang volunteered to get him back in exchange for life bending lessons." Kim almost smiles, but remembers to include a final detail: "He went to find Koh, because-"

"Koh?" Katara breaks.

"Because a man who was in the spirit world once told us to look for Koh to ever see his dad's face again." Kim finishes defiantly, before dimming the surrounding light to ease the tension. Katara closes her eyes and tries to control her breathing. Kim and Kento look to each other, hoping they hadn't done some irreversible moral wrong to Katara without knowing it. Katara suddenly breaks into tears, collapsing at Aang's unconscious body. Kim goes to comfort her, but Katara snaps to her feet with a menacing glare.

"Do you know who Koh is?" Katara advances towards them, her voice the slightest bit condescending. "The face-stealer? He steals faces. He probably stole your dad's, Kento. And now Aang might get his stolen." Kento freezes with shock, the palm trees standing suddenly still against the warm breezes. Kim shakes her head in disbelief. "I mean, Aang's survived Koh once, but just one emotional reaction could be the end of him." Katara looks to Kim. "Didn't you guys know that?" Kim shakes her head harder, unable to say anything. Kento blinks and tries to speak,

"Is there any chance my dad could've made it? Or that they'll both make it out?" Katara frowns.

"Sure, there's a chance, but..." She sits down, as does Kento, and they stare at Aang.

"We can't know for sure until he comes back."


End file.
